J I A

J I A is a spoken word installation for home and for being on foreign land. Each with their unique pain, as much as their uniqueness of being; it is resonated but never fully understood. To strive to listen, to keep listening, and to hold space for others is an act of self-service—for my people, for people of color, and for Black and indigenous lives.

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Transcript of poem in J I A:

又是冬天了

还是觉得写中文像

和陌生人握手

以前妈说

文字可以很做作

但现在像生理反应一样

在脑海里折叠

又梳直*

琐细的片段

是平行宇宙

或者现实是平行宇宙

生物忙碌

定义生活和当时

有时细胞张缩

现象话

排码人生

It is winter once more
I still feel that writing Chinese is like
Shaking hands with a stranger
In the past, Mom said
Language can be quite pretentious

But now, like a physiological response
Folding and stacking in my brain
And straightening once more
Mundane episodes
Is a parallel universe
Or perhaps reality is a parallel universe
Living things are busy
Defining life and now

Sometimes cells expand and shrink
Symptoms say
A paima (chart) life

Maggz is a Melbourne-based movement/multidisciplinary artist who specializes in waacking. This dance style, which predominantly involves arm movements, was created by the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Traversing amongst dance battles, live performances, installations, and interdisciplinary collaborations with other artists, Maggz aspires to explore the possibilities of art and creativity whilst honoring the unique being of the self and others.